Adjustable mounting for rotary knives



Y www May 26, 1959 c. TQLANSTROM 2,888,076

ADJUSTABLE MOUNTING FOR ROTARY KNIVES I Filed Feb. 23, 195e CARL 7'. LANSTROM,

his Attorney.

United States Carl T. Lanstrom, Concord, Calif., assignor to United States Steel Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey Application February 23, 1956, Serial No. 567,361 4 Claims. (Cl. 164-70) This invention relates to an improved mounting for rotary knives, such as those embodied in shears for longitudinally slitting continuous strip.

An object of the invention is to provide a mounting which allows both coarse and fine adjustments in the knife position to be made readily.

A more specic object is to provide a mounting which enables cooperating upper and lower knives rst to be positioned approximately in accordance with a cutting line and later positioned accurately, both as to the exact cutting line and with respect to each other to make a smooth cut.

Ln accomplishing these and other objects of the invention I have provided improved details of structure, a preferred form of which is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

The single figure is a side elevational View, partly in section, of a portion of a shear, the knives of which are mounted in accordance with my invention.

The figure shows upper and lower rotatable shafts and 12 of a shear for longitudinally slitting a continuous strip S, for example of steel or other metal. Annular upper and lower knives 13 and 14 having opposed circumferential cutting edges are mounted on the respective shafts. The mountings for the two knives are similar; hence only the upper is shown in detail. The remainder of the shear mechanism can be of any conventional construction, and hence is not shown nor described herein. However, showings of typical shear mechanisms for which my knife mounting is suitable can be found in my prior Patent No. 2,710,062, dated June 7, 1955, and in references cited in the tile thereof.

In accordance with my invention, the knife shaft contains a longitudinal keyway 15. A knife adjustment sleeve 16 is slidably mounted on the shaft, and is retained in any position to which it is adjusted by a tapered gib key 17 fitted into the keyway 15. For clarity the taper in this key is shown somewhat exaggerated. The sleeve 16 has an annular ange 18, and gib key a lug 19. A stud 20 is threadedly engaged with a tapped opening in the ange 18 and extends through an opening in the lug 19. A lock nut 21 and adjusting nut 22 are threadedly engaged with said stud on opposite sides of said lug. These nuts can be turned to withdraw the key from the sleeve and allow the latter to slide longitudinally of the shaft for effecting coarse adjustments in the knife position, or they can be turned in the opposite direction to force the key into the sleeve for xing the latter on the shaft.

A knife holder 23 is threadedly engaged with the exterior of the sleeve 16. The end portion of this holder is of reduced outside diameter and receives the knife 13 or 14. A drive pin 24 locates the knife in position on the holder, and a nut 25 is threadedly engaged with the holder for fixing the knife thereon. 'Ihe knife holder 23 is rotated relative to the sleeve 16 to elfect ne adjustments in the position of the knife. Set screws 26 are threadedly engaged with tapped openings in the tiange 18 on the atent sleeve and abut the end of the holder 23 to fix the latter in adjusted position on the sleeve. rIhe set screws 26 carry lock nuts 27. Preferably the holder 23 and nut 25 have tool receiving sockets 28 in their exterior to facilitate their manipulation.

In operation, the sleeves 16 on both shafts 10 and 12 first are positioned so that the cutting edges of the knives 12 and 13 lie approximately on the line where the strip is to be cut. The knives are then longitudinally adjusted to the exact position with respect to this line and to each other by turning the holders 23 relative to the sleeves 16. When necessary, the knives are readily removed from their holders and replaced on removal of the nut 25.

While I have shown and described only a single embodiment of my invention, it is apparent that modifications may arise. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the disclosure set forth but only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. The combination, with a rotary shaft and an annular knife having a circumferential cutting edge, of a mounting for said knife comprising a sleeve adjustably xed to said shaft, a holder adjustably fixed to said sleeve, and means fixing said knife to said holder, adjustments in said sleeve relative to said shaft effecting coarse adjustment in the knife position, and adjustments in said holder relative to said sleeve eecting fine adjustment therein.

2. The combination, with a rotary shaft and an annular knife having a circumferential cutting edge, of a mounting for said knife comprising a sleeve slidably carried on said shaft for longitudinal adjustment, means for xing said sleeve to said shaft in the position to which it'is adjusted, a knife holder threadedly engaged with said sleeve for longitudinal adjustment, and means lixing said knife to said holder, adjustments in said sleeve relative to said shaft effecting coarse adjustment in the knife position, and adjustments in said holder relative to said sleeve eifecting line adjustment therein.

3. The combination, with a rotary shaft having a longitudinal keyway and an annular knife having a circumferential cutting edge, of a mounting for said knife comprising a sleeve slidably carried on said shaft, a tapered gib key in said keyway, screw threaded means connect ing said sleeve and said key for xing said sleeve and key in adjusted position on said shaft or releasing them for longitudinal adjustment, a knife holder threadedly engaged with said sleeve for longitudinal adjustment, screw threaded means for fixing said holder in adjusted position on said sleeve, and means fixing said knife to said holder, adjustments in said sleeve relative to said shaft effecting coarse adjustment in the knife position, and adjustments in said holder relative to said sleeve effecting line adjustment therein.

4. The combination, with a rotary, shaft and an annular knife having a circumferential cutting edge, of a mounting for said knife comprising means carried by said shaft for coarse adjustment longitudinally of said shaft, and means xing said knife to said rst named means for fine adjustment longitudinally of said shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 665,360 Beck Ian. 1, 1901 1,503,520 Stevens Aug. 5, 1924 2,151,831 Buccicone Mar. 28, 1939 2,412,047 Huck Dec. 3, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS 11,749 Great Britain May 19, 1913 

